TUCSON — When reliever Rafael Betancourt arrived in Denver last July, his right groin hurt so badly he wasn’t sure he could pitch. He thought it could be a sports hernia. He was worried it would require surgery.

“But I had a big responsibility when the Rockies traded for me. They really wanted and needed me,” said the 34-year-old, who was acquired from Cleveland for a minor- league prospect. “I didn’t want to let them down.”

Betancourt instead propped up the bullpen, providing a sturdy bridge to closer Huston Street. It’s hard to find a player who thinks the Rockies would have reached the postseason without Betancourt. Not only did he post a 1.78 ERA in 32 games, but with fire alarms blaring and the season teetering, Betancourt registered the club’s biggest save in a Sept. 16 win at San Francisco.

When looking for reasons the Rockies can improve and win their first-ever National League West title, Betancourt’s presence for a full season is near the top of the list.

“He makes us all better,” Street said. “You know what you are going to get from him.”

Betancourt became a free agent this winter and nearly left the Rockies. But after weighing serious offers from the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers, the right-hander accepted the Rockies’ salary arbitration and eventually signed a two-year, $7.55 million deal.

“There were no bad words, no bad feelings. It was a process where I wanted to see what was out there,” Betancourt said. “But I didn’t want to screw my life up and leave a place where I was so comfortable.”

Reliability, the Rockies like to say, is a player’s best ability. Betancourt’s consistent performance serves two purposes: It helps define roles around him and gives manager Jim Tracy the freedom to mix and match earlier in games.

“We have seen it from the other side when a team has a great bullpen. There’s a sense of urgency that you have to beat them in the first seven innings,” first baseman Todd Helton said. “We have guys out there who are filthy.”

Last April, it was just ugly. Only the Washington Nationals’ bullpen was worse. But after the rotation settled — the Rockies finished with a club- record 94 quality starts — and Street cemented the ninth inning, an amoebic relief corps began to take shape.

Matt Daley emerged as a consistent force, and Franklin Morales reinvented himself as a late-inning Grim Reaper, even closing in Street’s absence for three weeks.

“Tracy is the best manager I have ever had in running a bullpen. We got into a rhythm,” Street said. “Guys knew their roles, so even before the phone rang, they knew who was getting up.”

Tracy likes his bullpen’s versatility, and he has proved both with the 2004 Dodgers and last season’s Rockies that he’s adept at moving chess pieces.

“He’s shown what he can do when he has options,” general manager Dan O’Dowd said.

Balance is the key for the Rockies to become an elite bullpen. They are top-heavy with Street, Betancourt and Morales, all of whom can close, but need contributions from second left-hander Randy Flores, Manuel Corpas, Matt Belisle and possibly even Tim Redding.

“What you are looking for is strike-throwers, guys who will pound the zone,” pitching coach Bob Apodaca said. “We had a stat last season that in games when our relievers didn’t walk a guy, we won 77 percent of the time. That says it all.”

Corpas is an intriguing X-factor. Tracy remembers when he was “brilliant in 2007, so you know it’s in there.” Apodaca said it’s critical this spring that Corpas focus on command.

“He went through some physical problems and some mental problems as well,” Apodaca said. “When he’s right, he’s a strike-throwing machine. He needs to get that mantle back. That’s who he needs to be.”

The difference is the Rockies aren’t counting on Corpas to work the eighth inning. That job resides in the steady hands of Betancourt, who had never pitched until 1997 in Class-A ball after the Red Sox told him he was never going to be a shortstop.

“I couldn’t hit, so they didn’t see me replacing Nomar (Garciaparra),” Betancourt said. “When (they) first told me to pitch, I said no. You have your dreams, and I wanted to be a player. I didn’t want to start over.”

Considered a premier setup man, Betancourt didn’t make his major-league debut until he was 27. And that was after sitting out a season following a stress fracture in his forearm that remains held together by a titanium plate.

“When I grew up, some of my friends had problems with me because they would smoke or drink, and all I wanted to do was play sports,” Betancourt said. “I enjoy what I do. I get paid to do this. That’s why I am so serious now. You have so many people who depend on you. This is a special team, and all I want to do is help us win.”

Troy is a former Denver Broncos and Colorado Rockies beat writer for The Denver Post. He joined the news organization in 2002 as the Rockies' beat writer and became a Broncos beat writer in 2014 before assuming the lead role ahead of the 2015 season. He left The Post in 2015.

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